Don’t Procrastinate

BY THE 1990s, New York City had been in decline for decades. What brought about the city’s recovery? It was, in part, the broken windows theory.

Picture a vacant building with one window broken. Most people wouldn’t think much of it. But this one broken window sends a signal—and, soon enough, others get broken. How do you reverse this decline? It’s easy: You get rid of the broken windows, and make sure things stay that way.

What does this have to do with money? I took my first personal finance course as a community college freshman. The teacher didn’t have a finance background. Still, he offered the class his theory about personal finance.

He said he fixes things quickly rather than procrastinating over problems. For instance, if his car had a cracked taillight but the bulb still worked, it wouldn’t be an issue to continue driving the car. But he felt that, if he didn’t replace the taillight, water would get into the light socket and cause more damage. The cost of the resulting damage would far exceed the cost of a new taillight. That idea has stayed with me to this day.

Taking care of the little things early in the game can save us money in the long run. For instance, after accidents and surgeries, failing to go to physical therapy has caused many of my friends to end up with reduced mobility.

Similarly, not caulking your windows can result in water leaking into your house, plus the resulting draft can cause your heating and air-conditioning bills to soar. Caulk is cheap. Heating and AC bills are not.

Fixing minor problems before they get bigger can not only boost pride of ownership, but also it can save you money in the long run. In my old field of property-and-casualty insurance, this is referred to as “minimizing the loss.” A tree that falls on your house and leaves a hole in your roof will only get worse unless you put a tarp over the hole. The tarp is cheap, but the potential water damage is huge.

This approach to fixing problems helped return New York City to its glory—and it can help you by saving serious money.

Finding My True North

AFTER I STOPPED working at age 70, the first thing I did was to examine my investments and cash flow. Satisfied that my finances were robust, I next turned to a key question: What did I want to do with the rest of my life?

You see, I’d always used work as my life’s organizing principle. It gave me purpose and provided much-needed money. What about my free time? Similar to work, I’d used chores and projects to organize my days.

But now that I had abundant free time, I needed a new direction. I sat down and listed all the things I did. I was taking a nutrition class, so I listed “school” as one category. “Fixing stuff” was another category.

After completing my list, I marked which activities I liked to do and which ones I didn’t. In making this division, I didn’t consider whether or not I should do these things. Rather, I marked the things I wanted to do—and those I didn’t—regardless of their importance.

Finally, I lumped my favorite activities into a few broad categories. By the end of this winnowing process, I’d come up with three general pursuits. I’m not trying to convince you to adopt my three categories. But I do find my short list helpful whenever I’m bored and wondering what to do next. My list: exploring, learning and accomplishing.

Exploring could mean traveling to Tibet or driving down a street I’ve never seen before.

Learning will never mean getting a degree. I hated school. I got my bachelor’s degree but didn’t enjoy it. No, to me, learning means gaining a new skill. I’m currently learning leather crafting by making a belt.

Accomplishing can mean replacing the brake pads on my car or mowing the lawn. I just feel good about how I’ve spent my time whenever I accomplish something tangible.

When I have nothing to do and feel bored, I refer to my list of three possible pursuits to give me direction. This check-in, in turn, gives me motivation to move forward.

After each task is complete, I assess how I feel. I consistently find that, to some degree, I’ve enjoyed the activity. That tells me these three endeavors are my true north.

Retirement was never a goal of mine. I’ve known people who worked for schools, the fire department or companies that offered pensions. In every case, these people would count down the days until they could retire. Meanwhile, the FIRE—financial independence, retire early—movement is about how long these devotees must work before they can call it quits.

I was entitled to two pensions from former employers. But even combined, they wouldn’t be enough to live on, so work became my activity of choice in my earlier years, not leisure.

Now that I’m retired, though, I need ideas for how to spend my time. Knowing the three things that turn me on—plus the freedom to choose which activities I don’t want to do—helps me enjoy this new phase in my life. After all, it’s my life. Why not try to enjoy it?

David Gartland was born and raised on Long Island, New York, and has lived in central New Jersey since 1987. He earned a bachelor’s degree in math from the State University of New York at Cortland and holds various professional insurance designations. Dave’s property and casualty insurance career with different companies lasted 42 years. He’s been married 36 years, and has a son with special needs. Check out Dave's earlier articles.

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